Kobe Bryant, who has helped the Lakers win five NBA championships over a 20-year career spent entirely in Los Angeles, announced Sunday on The Players' Tribune website that he will retire after this season, writing that "this season is all I have left to give."

In a first-person story titled "Dear Basketball," the 37-year-old wrote in the form of a poem that the sport "gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream/And I'll always love you for it."

"I've known for a while," Bryant said. "A decision like this, you can't make that decision based on outside circumstances. It has to be an internal decision, and finally I've decided to accept that I can't actually do this anymore, and I'm OK with that."

Bryant's decision is not totally unexpected, given that he has said many times in recent weeks that he has considered making this season his last. After two decades, two Olympic gold medals, five championship rings, 17 All-Star selections, an 81-point game that ranks as the second-best in NBA history and more than 32,000 points, Bryant's career is officially winding down.

Bryant was drafted out of high school by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in 1996, then was traded to the Lakers. He helped Los Angeles win NBA titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010 and was named the league's MVP in 2008. He currently is third on the NBA's all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

Bryant won the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend as a rookie and played in the All-Star Game for the first time the following year, and a star was quickly born. The 81 points he scored against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006, are second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in NBA history, and Bryant is the only NBA player to spend 20 consecutive seasons with one team.

After a horrendous start of the season by the Toronto Raptors, they just can't catch a break from all the bad luck they've had the whole season. First, Terrence Ross injured his back and was out for 3 months and next came Lowry who broke his hand in a bar accident in Toronto when he tried to punch a guy under the influence of alcohol. He was out for 2 months because of surgery. Then suddenly Coach Dwyane Casey was fired from the Head Coaching Job and was replaced by Larry Stokes or the so-called "New Guy Around the Block". After those mishaps and happenings, you would've expected the universe to at least make it up to them but that wasn't what happened. Instead, the Raptors got the 4th pick. 3 picks away from their expected landing spot.

The whole Los Angeles Lakers organization must have had a tear in their eye when the Charlotte Hornets were announced 2nd in the Lottery which definitely means that the Lakers have the 1st pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. The Lakers beat the 25% chance of the Raptors to get the 1st and 5th Pick in the Lottery. The Lakers now have a total of 4 picks in the 1st round but sources claim that picks number 15 and 20 are being used as trade bait for other teams.

With the 1st and 5th Pick, who should the Lakers pick? Is it the Australian wonder, Ben Simmons, who has been dominating on the court and has scouts swarming him every game? Or is it the quiet and collected Jaylen Brown of Kansas? There has been so many predictions but only the great mind of GM Kevin Parker Sr. knows the answer to that question.

NEW YORK — The hype has surrounded him for years. "The Australian LeBron," an Internet sensation out of Australia and now, after a one-year stopover in the State of Louisiana, he's arrived. Ben Simmons is here, and on Thursday night in Brooklyn, the Los Angeles Lakers made him the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Heading into the draft, there was some concern that the Lakers' brain trust was divided on the proper direction to take with the top selection, with owner Jerry Buss reportedly favoring Kansas Forward Jaylen Brown and the "majority of" the front office with General Manager Kevin Parker Sr. leaning towards LSU forward Ben Simmons. In the end, Parker Sr., made an interesting pitch that somehow convinced Buss to trust him and draft Simmons over Brown.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Simmons combines remarkable leaping ability, quickness and a finisher's instincts in transition, and the length (a 7-foot wingspan, per DraftExpress) and agility to be able to stifle opposing scorers on the perimeter.

Simmons deftly deflected questions about whether he thought he'd fit better as a small forward or a power forward in the NBA.

"I think I can play both," he said. "I think I'm tall enough and skilled enough to play the three or four."

Soon enough, the Lakers also picked Kentucky Guard Jamal Murray using their 5th pick of the Draft. Murray was having a career season for Kentucky, averaging 24.2 ppg and handing out 8.9 apg. So far, for the last 2 seasons, the Lakers have come up with two point guards that are over 6'5 in height in Draft night. Both of them also have great playmaking skills, speed, and agility to pair it with.

Murray is expected to come off the bench for the Lakers as they already have Mudiay in the point and Oubre as the shooting guard in the starting lineup.

He was fired from his coaching job in Milwaukee where he actually did a great job in coaching the rookie D'Angelo Russell who came second in voting for the Rookie of the Year Award. The Bucks fired him midway through the season and was replaced by Coach Flip Saunders whom they signed for a one-year deal.

Coach Kidd has been on the Lakers' radar since the firing and they took the opportunity to sign him when they saw that he was still available when the period of Staff Signing was ongoing.

The Lakers signed him to a 4-year/$30.25M deal in hopes that he'll bring the Lakers to title contention this season.

When Kidd was asked about how he needs to handle the team, he said, "Obviously coaching a team this young is not easy. You have to deal with their actions on the court as well as off the court, primarily in the locker room. You have to control and tame their emotions and personalities to get the best out of them. I know this team has the talent to compete, it's just a matter of knowing who's going to step up in the big moments."

Head Coach Grade:

Offense | A+ Defense | A+

Kobe Bryant

Kobe may have stopped from playing on the court for the Lakers but he told us he doesn't want to stop being a part of this team. The Laker veteran, who was inducted in the 2016 Hall of Fame, has been itching to be back on the court moments after his emotional retirement speech in the Staples Center 2 weeks ago. The media's been told that he has been going to the gym again to practice and mentor the young guys like old times.

Bryant signed a 2-year/$1.88M deal to be the Lakers' Assistant Coach.

He was interviewed by the media after he walked out of General Manager Kevin Parker's office.

"Man, it's good to be back here. The thought of me having another chance to be a part of a new era of the Lakers just makes me happy and feel blessed. I hope I can influence the young guys to have a legendary work ethic like I have."

NEW YORK — The NBA is going to sponsor the first ever World vs USA matchup with a twist. The twist is that the players that are going to play in the game are not the current NBA players that we are accustomed to seeing but the future NBA rookies next season. They think this is a great idea to showcase the abilities of the future NBA players as they battle for the attention of the scouts.

Various GMs were interviewed on what their views were with the current setup. So far, no one has said it was not a good idea since they are also curious as to what the future stars of the NBA are capable of.

Team USA made it clear that they are still the better country than the rest of the world as they showcased their talents in a 15-point win against Team World. USA was led by Harry Giles III from Duke as he finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds tonight paired with a couple of blocks. Other players who contributed to the win was swingman Josh Jackson and guard Malik Monk. Both scored 15 points for Team USA.

For the rest of the world, there was Jain Wallet III, a Spaniard prospect, and Thon Maker, an Aussie, to orchestrate the pick and roll in offense. Wallet had 13 points in the night with 8 assists while Maker had a quiet 9 points with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Kevin Parker, son of Lakers General Manager Kevin Parker Sr., also showed the scouts his outside shooting and rebounding skills in the two spot. Parker finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also shot the ball pretty well with only one miss from beyond the arc, going 3 of 4 from downtown.

El Segundo, Calif. - The Lakers' pitch seem to have finally worked as they managed to sign Anthony Davis this Friday afternoon, hours just after the contract negotiations.

General Manager Kevin Parker Sr. spoke to the media about the signing.

"We've been waiting too long for this to happen. Anthony (Davis) has been our top priority in Free Agency and we managed to land him. We are excited for him to play in front of the Lakers crowd this upcoming season."

And when asked about the Lakers' playoffs chances, he replied, "Yes, I know we got lucky last season with the injuries to Eric Bledsoe and John Wall in the middle of the season that made their respective teams slow down. Now, it's different. We have Mudiay, Oubre, Simmons, Randle, and Davis. That's one of the best and certainly the youngest lineup you'll ever see play in the basketball court. Bottomline is, they are young, great players that is hungry for that title."

The media also had a chance to interview Anthony Davis after the signing.

M: Was it difficult to choose between the Pelicans and the Lakers?AD: At first, yes. But when Mr. Parker talked to me, he assured that they will take care of me here in LA and he promised me success, unlike the Pelicans who are still rebuilding and is planning to do it again for another year.M: Fair enough. Have you met or talked to any of your new teammates now?AD: So far, only Kobe (Bryant) and Julius (Randle) talked to me. They were actually there in the room when we made the deal. They thanked and congratulated me as soon as I sad, 'Yes.' to the offer.M: What is your goal coming in this season?AD: Making the playoffs is a nice start. I've never had any playoff experience so making the playoffs would be nice. I also would want to see us at least get past the first round of the playoffs, too. That would be nice.

The Lakers and Davis agreed on a 3-year deal, $25M deal amounting to a $75M deal.

Montreal, Canada — Current Parker Technology CEO and Lakers General Manager Kevin Parker Sr. became the new owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

The Buss Family wanted a "change of scenery" for the Lakers' Front Office and they think current GM Parker Sr., is the best option the Lakers could have to give this franchise a new start.

The negotiated $3.5 billion sale price is the highest price in any sports franchise in North America. Parker, 52, was ranked No. 15 this year on Forbes' annual world's billionaires list and has a net worth of $28 billion.

"I am humbled and honored to be the new owner of the Los Angeles Lakers," Parker said in a statement. "Lakers fans are so amazing. They have remained fiercely loyal to our franchise through some extraordinary times. I will be hard core in giving the team, our great coach, staff and players the support they need to do their best work on the court."

The pricetag seems astronomical (the Los Angeles Clippers were sold for $2B last year), but Parker believes the team is a safe investment.

El Segundo, Calif — With just a week left in Free Agency, the Lakers were lucky to still sign players that can contribute to the team. One of the players that the Lakers signed is the swingman Terrence Ross who was coming off a great season by the Raptors. Unfortunately, he wasn't offered a deal by the Raps as they already wasted their money on Dwight in Free Agency. Ross is expected to make $7M every year for 2 years with Los Angeles.

Another notable signing by the Lakers this offseason is the former 2nd pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, Evan Turner. Turner seemed to take a step back in terms of points scored per game in his last season in Boston which led to his minutes diminishing later in the season. He thinks LA is a great fit for him to have a fresh start. Turner signed a 2-year deal and will earn $4M per year.

The Lakers also look to bolster their perimeter offense, specifically the three-point shooting. They were 25th last season in 3PTM and 22nd in 3PT%, they brought in sharpshooting guard Marco Belinelli and forward Omri Casspi to spread the floor on offense and give the other bigs space in the paint to operate. Belinelli and Casspi both inked a 1-year deal with the Lakers and both are earning close to $4M in one season.Ian Mahinmi also willingly signed the offer that the Lakers offered him. He agreed to a 2-year deal worth roughly $9M in total.

A familiar face has also been brought in by the Lakers. Forward Ron Artest or now known as either Panda Friend or Metta World Peace, was offered a contract which he willingly signed in Free Agency. He signed a 1-year deal and will make $1.7M in one season with the Lakers.

Aside from the new signings, the Lakers also retained the 7'3" Center from Latvia, Kristaps Porzingis. His length and ability to put back misses to the rim will make him a valuable member of the team. Zinger signed a 2-year deal that will earn him a total of $32M, $16M each season.

New York — Rumors have been speculating about the Lakers' future in downtown Los Angeles after Kevin Parker Sr. bought it from the Buss family 2 weeks ago. As we all know, Parker is Canadian and they think his love of basketball might lead to him bringing the whole franchise from America to Canada, specifically to Montreal, his hometown.

He has the money to pay for the move and certainly the vote of many Canadians that want another team based in Canada. All he needs to do now, if ever, is to get Silver's approval and he should be on his way.

Mr. Parker has not yet commented on the rumors but the sudden ratification of a very large arena that can house an estimated 32 thousand guests is way too peculiar to not look at. Whatever Parker's grand plan is, let's just hope it's going to be for the better.

Finally can play now. Format is, since I can't see what day it is, a 3-game recap. Still the same recap format with one game with the review and then the remaining 2 is just a picture and scores like always. Also, I'm going to play only the first half of the month and then simulate the end so this can be faster than the last one.

Phil89 wrote:That team has crazy potential. You might not be a contender this season (only because they are so young), but I think the NBA Finals will probably be "Lakers vs challenger" for the next 5-10 years.

I'll give it one or two more offseasons and we're ready to go on a trip to the Finals again.

Phil89 wrote:Montreal Lakers huh? Interesting idea.

Something along those lines

big-shot-ROB wrote:I saw Jain Wallet III in the Nike USA match. I had completly forgoten i was in there lol

With the season officially kicking off, the Lakers and the Warriors face off against each other on what the NBA fans think is going to be the two teams that will match-up in the Western Conference Finals.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Julius Randle is the clear winner of the MVP here. He finished with 25 points while shooting 12 of 19 attempts. Not to mention his work on the boards where he had 14 for tonight, 4 of those were on the offensive end of the floor.

LVP: Dragan Bender, the Warriors' 13th pick of the draft, didn't do so well in his debut game versus the Lakers. He only managed to get one shot to go in for him, finishing with 3 points in 1 of 8 shooting while committing 3 turnovers as well.

X-Factor/s: Emmanuel Mudiay's playmaking skills are just ridiculous and he showcased it well tonight. He distributed the ball efficiently and came up with 14 assists, tying his career-high.

Lakers drew first blood and the Warriors want revenge after their 1st game in Opening Night. The Lakers are coming in tonight without any losses and plans to make it 4 in a row.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Klay Thompson came out firing on all cylinders tonight. He had 4 threes in 6 attempts that led to his dominant 29 points. Stephen Curry is also the co-MVP with Thompson tonight. He finished with 22 points and 11 assists for the Warriors.

LVP: Terrence Ross is tonight's Least Valuable Player as he attempted a whooping 7 attempts beyond the arc and only came up with 1 make, finishing with 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting.

X-Factor/s: David Lee's work on the glass propelled the Warriors to victory. He brought down 16 rebounds tonight paired with 14 points and 1 block.

Considered as the Game of the Year by many fans, the Kings and the Lakers' matchup went to 4 overtimes and saw the Kings walk out with the W.

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Rudy Gay posted a career-high 43 points in 16 of 38 shooting and a 5-of-10 clip from downtown. He carried his team on his own for the last 4 quarters and Favors and Cousins didn't come through in the crunch.

LVP: Julius Randle had his worst game of the season so far. He did finish with 14 points and a career-high 26 rebounds but his shooting tonight was just unacceptable. He was 5 of 22 when shooting the ball last night.

X-Factor/s: Darren Collison also had a career game and finished with 31 points and 18 assists. Derrick Favors also contributed with a 20-20.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Saturday they have signed free agent center Andrew Bynum to a contract for the remainder of the season. The Lakers will pay Bynum $1 million for the remainder of the season, a source told ESPN.

The 7-1, 285-pound Bynum played seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and was part of their 2009 and 2010 NBA Championship teams. He was traded by the Lakers to Philadelphia in August, 2012, but missed the 2012-13 regular season with knee problems.

Five teams were interested in Bynum, including the Heat, but it was the Lakers who had a roster spot and the space under the luxury tax to add him now.

"It really wasn't a hard decision, I think it's the right fit for me," Bynum said in a statement. "In all honesty, I think we've got the best chance of winning. It will be great to back up Julius [Randle], and I'll do whatever I can to help this team."

Bynum, who missed 3/4 of last season with a knee injury, averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 24 games for the New York Knicks.

• Anthony Davis and Julius Randle seem to be co-existing well together both on and off the court• We are tied with our rivals, the Clippers, to the 2nd seed so far• Ben Simmons, our first pick in this year's draft, has won the Rookie of the Month Award for November; A good sign for us.

What went wrong:

• We are 26th in the league in 3PT Makes and 27th in 3PT Percentage• Evan Turner and Terrence Ross are not in their form like last season. Both of them were coming off a career season and neither are showing their worth for the Lakers.• Metta World Peace got a concussion in his season debut for Los Angeles versus the Bulls. He will be out for a maximum of 2 months.

The Lakers and the Celtics rivalry heat up tonight in Los Angeles as the Lakers try to improve their record while the Celtics look for just their 3rd win of the season.

Lakers ground Celtics; 102-86

Recap | Box Score | Highlights

MVP: Anthony Davis has been playing great for the past 3 games and he had one here tonight too. Davis finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. He was 3 assists shy of a triple-double.

LVP: Isaiah Thomas has been struggling all season long and it’s hurting the team in offense and in defense. Thomas attempted 10 3PT shots and only made 1. He was also the Celtics’ leading scorer with only 12 in 36 minutes of playing time.

X-Factor/s: Julius Randle regained his shooting touch tonight, snapping his cold steak of shooting way below 33% in the last 3 games he’s played.

Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward Evan Turner sustained a concussion during Saturday's loss versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and is out indefinitely, the team announced.

"Following extensive examinations over the last two days -- including neurological tests earlier Sunday morning -- Lakers guard/forward Evan Turner has been diagnosed with a concussion. He will not return to the court until he is symptom-free and cleared under the NBA's concussion protocol guidelines," the Lakers said in a statement. "He will be evaluated daily and there is no timetable for his return."

El Segundo, Calif.-- Lakers guard Kelly Oubre has a torn meniscus in his right knee and will undergo surgery, the team said Tuesday. Oubre left the Mavericks-Lakers game because of pain in his right knee, an exam and subsequent MRI confirmed the tear.

A timetable for Oubre's return will be determined once he has surgery, the team said. The Lakers and Oubre decided to fix the meniscus tear instead of cutting the damaged part out in order to elongate Oubre's career.

The 21-year-old was averaging 14.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 25 games this season.

It's quite a blow for the Lakers, who was poising for a playoff run before the all-star break and his contribution to the team will surely be missed.

Jamal Murray, the Lakers' 5th pick in the Draft, will start as the Shooting Guard for the Lakers. He is averaging 8.1 points per game and 5.1 assists.

We've seen it everywhere. From back when LeBron was still playing in South Beach with Wade and Bosh to the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and now to Oklahoma City's Westbrook-Durant-Ibaka trio. The "small ball" lineup was used primarily to run the offense faster and it's been used by teams that gave them success in the regular season. So, what's so special about that small ball lineup and how does it work, exactly?

The small ball lineup is a style of play used by a team that sacrifices height, physical strength and low post offense/defense in favor of a lineup of smaller players for speed, agility and increased scoring, often from the three-point line. It completely goes out of the norm of a team that's centered on a big man playing down in the post. This lineup has also created many opportunities for shooters because of how it stretches the floor and a single drive and a kick-out to an open man can collapse the opposing team's defense entirely.

We've seen Miami do it, then Golden State, now Oklahoma City. As one of the rising powerhouse in the NBA, shouldn't the Lakers aim to do that? According to GM Parker, "No.". "I'm quite aware of the small ball lineup and I don't see any problem with it. I just feel like sticking with the classics might give us more success than the rising small ball lineup."

For the last two drafts, the Lakers have drafted two point guards (Mudiay & Murray) and both of them are listed as 6'5" and to put this to perspective, the average height of a point guard is a little over 6'1". Currently, there are no players in the Lakers roster that is below 6'5". Anthony Davis, who has an eagle-like wingspan, is the team's power forward who's listed as 6'11" and Julius Randle, whose growth spurt made it possible to switch his playstyle from an average mid range shooter to a dominant presence down low, is also listed as 6'11".

Even with the enormous height differences, the Lakers haven't had any trouble winning games while focusing on their offensive output in the paint and in fact, they lead the league in points in the paint and FG% in the paint but suffer from their horrible shooting outside the arc.

• Anthony Davis has been anchoring the team offensively with his stellar shooting.• Marco Belinelli seem to be in shape for these past couple of games. He's scoring 8.9 ppg in the last 5 games with 28 3PT makes per game all while shooting at a 71% clip.• We still have 2 defensive stalwarts in our team that can and will alter shots. We are first in Opponent FG% with 41%.• Moving the ball is still the bread and butter of this team as we still are first in assists per game.• Mudiay finished the month unharmed, his first time this season.

What went wrong:

• Turner and Oubre's injuries held us back to a 3-12 finish this month.• Julius Randle tweaked his right ankle, making him miss 3 games this month.• We are currently the 7th seed in the West.• Oubre and Turner are not expected to join us this month.• Poor decision making leads to turnovers; The Lakers are leading the league in turnovers per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Tuesday that they have traded away Terrence Ross, Ian Mahinmi, and Kristaps Porzingis. There were 3 teams involved in the trade and swapped a total of 7 players and 3 draft picks.

They sent Terrence Ross and Kristaps Porzingis to Denver and then traded Ian Mahinmi to the Sacramento Kings, all while getting Jordan Clarkson back and promising forward Skal Labissiere. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings traded away reserve center Quincy Acy and a 1st round pick (2018) to the Denver Nuggets and got Derrick Williams while the Lakers sent Ian Mahinmi and a 1st round pick (2017).

Clarkson is currently averaging 3.1 points per game, clearly a step down from his 13.8 ppg last season with the Lakers. It hasn't been a good season for Clarkson at all with the Nuggets and he seems very eager to come back to LA and work on his game with us.

Skal Labissiere, the rookie from Kentucky, has been playing great this past month and even won the Rookie of the Month award for his amazing performances lately.

The Lakers front office were more than willing to explain the deal that sent away 2 of their offseason signings to Denver.

"We think this is the best way moving forward for all of us. Terrence has been struggling to shoot the ball efficiently because he wasn't used to playing off the ball too much. Ian's problem isn't being efficient at all though. We just think he should be playing for a team that can really use him and be a part of the rotation. He's not going to see any minutes here in LA with Anthony Davis playing extra minutes."

The team also answered the question about trading rising star Kristaps Porzingis.

"Personally, it wasn't us that wanted this deal as much as Kristaps. He wanted out of LA and it just so happens that there were a lot of suitors for him, mostly because of his stellar play us of late. Kristaps said he was sure he didn't want to play here anymore because he knows he can do more than what he has been showing to us. He simply wants to move on to a team that he is comfortable and can play without restricted minutes in."

Looks like you've resurrected the Lakers already! Good job.Labissierre and Porzingis in one trade: they'll be the face of the league soon. Kind of surprised that Labissierre isn't averaging more rebounds and blocks.Which 2017 picks did you trade? Yours or Bostons? How many picks do you have left for 2017?